My missus's old Saab is on its last legs - big repairs likely to come up in the next 6 months, and because my son's now 17 and we want him to learn to drive, we're thinking of the scrappage and getting a new small-engined runabout, rather than a more direct replacement for the saab. My question is this: how important is the insurance group in the decision of which car to get? Obviously we're not going to get something in, say, Group 10, but does it make a big big difference in insurance premium if we got a Gp 4 car as against a Gp 1, where the choice is really thin? I know we're going to be paying the earth anyway just to get the lad insured on what will be, essentially, my partner's day-to-day car, but I can't see any other way round it.
Anyone got any useful experience to relate? Seems to me the wrong decisions could be quite costly... Thanks
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Groups used to up to 20 but now I think it's 50. And insurance companies take a lot of other things into account including where you live obviously.
I assume you mean the old group 4 category and not the currently used one?
I'd do a few quotes online to see how some cars compare - it's not as simple as thinking a particular car will be a lot cheaper than another.
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rtj70 - yes, I was thinking group 4 in old money. I hate doing quotes online, it feels as though once you've submitted your details they've got you by the short and... but I suppose it's easier than doing the whole thing on the phone.
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To give an idea on cost you could ask a broker instead. You will be surprised how expensive this will be. And it will only go up after they pass! How much depends on where you live.
My nephew is a named driver on a Citroen C2. When he passed the insurance for the rest of the year went up by another £1700 I believe, i.e. well over £2k to be a named driver.
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There is a young, bt young I mean just finished medical studies and is in first year working in hospital, and ha has an Elise S2. Has it insured in his fathers name (noughty) with himself as named driver. Premium £4500.
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Has it insured in his fathers name (noughty) with himself as named driver. >>
Not "noughty" [sic] at all. As long as the main driver is honestly identified on the Policy, no problem.
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I hate doing quotes online >>
It is not against the law for you to submit made up "dummy" data to research and obtain quotations. Altea Ego has explained in previous threads how to so.
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If you do a forum search you'll find several previous long discussions on best companies / approach for insuring young drivers, come sup every few months, unsurprisingly!
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You might also find another problem with adding your son to your wife's insurance policy if you are downsizing your car at the same time as adding him as a driver. Our main family car is registered as 'disabled' so should only be used if my husband or younger son are on board, so bought a smaller car for me to use and older son to use when convenient. We found that nearly every company loaded the premium as if son was main driver, incorrectly assuming we were trying to 'front' for him. We eventually gave up the struggle and put it in his name so he could build a NCB, put the family car insurance in my name and added daughter as a named driver on that policy.
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because my son's now 17 and we want him to learn to drive, >>
After he passes, it will be easier to get his name added on a group 1 or 2 car. Insurers do not actively want 17 and 18 year old boys on their books, and so the premiums will be very high even for group 1 cars, and if he has a prang, you can be sure that the Insurer will investigate whether your son was really the main user or not.
However, it may be relatively cheaper to insure him, but only while he is a learner, on a short term policy:
"If you don't own your own car, but want to practice in your parents or friends car for example, then you have probably found that they don't want to let you behind the wheel of their car because it either costs too much, or because of the risk to their no claims bonus.
With a Collingwood Learner Driver policy, the policy is in the name of the learner driver, who can drive the vehicle specified on the policy, providing they are supervised by someone over the age of 21 who has held a Full Valid UK Driving Licence for a minimum of 3 years."
www.collingwoodannuallearners.co.uk/ANNUALLEARNERS...f
Note:
1. they do 4 weeks or 12 weeks for the first time, renewals thereafter can be in 7 day periods.
2. the car can be up to group 15 (old style ratings). This includes for example the e39 series BMW 525.
3. the price is fixed, irrespective of the car. For 12 weeks, it used to cost around £210.
Above info found at www.2pass.co.uk/ which has a useful forum for learners.
Edited by jbif on 07/07/2009 at 16:14
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From conversations with insurance companies, its actually cheaper to insure your son (as an additional driver) when he is a learner - because a mature fully qualified driver must accompany him at all times. The problem comes when he passes the test and can drive on his own.
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As a 17 year old male driver it made next to no difference percentage-wise whether I was insuring a group 1 diesel metro or a group 8 Citroen Xsara.
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As a 17 year old male driver it made next to no difference percentage-wise whether I was insuring a group 1 diesel metro or a group 8 Citroen Xsara.
Largely because the risk they are insuring against isn't only your car. Okay a performance car is more likely to get a teenager into trouble but one could cause an expensive accident in a group 1 car or group 8. A really bad accident could cost the insurance company a great deal of money.
Edited by rtj70 on 07/07/2009 at 17:06
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I did talk to my current insurer (RAC) about this and they suggested that while he's learning I could add him as a temporary extra driver on my car (diesel passat), which I can do for up to 30 days in one year. This would be cheaper than adding him as a permanent extra driver. However, they won't do individual days and I would have thought that 30 days would run out quite fast. I might look more closely at the Collingwood option, thanks for that link.
I hadn't made the distinction between learning and having passed, to be honest.
Thanks for all the comments and info folks, I shall award myself an evening in front of the interwebby with the phone in my hand. Oh joy...
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Norwich Union ("Aviva") offer short term insurance, think it's about £15/day, which for one day a week driving is probably quite reasonable.
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Except I think you need a full licence to use the short term insurance. You certainly have to be over 21. Try getting a quote if you were born after 1988.
The cost of insurance is one reason why paying for additional lessons can actually work out cheaper. And all the risk and any wear and tear is against the driving school vehicle.
Edited by rtj70 on 07/07/2009 at 17:11
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When I insured a Corsa for my son we were surprised to find that a more recent, more expensive Corsa was cheaper to insure by more than the additional price for the newer car!
Being newer it also had more NCAP stars and was in better condition.
Both were 1.0 Corsas!
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Except I think you need a full licence to use the short term insurance. You certainly have to be over 21. >>
Aviva Short Term Car Insurance Eligibility - drivers
The customer and any other person who will drive must:
Be resident in Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man.
Be aged 23 or over (restrictions apply to certain vehicle models).
Hold a current, valid, full UK driving licence and have done so for at least 12 months.
etc.
Edited by jbif on 07/07/2009 at 19:18
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a corsa 1.0 litre gls on say a t plate has power steering and is insurance group 1
i would recommend one of these to laddo and the insurance should only be about 1800 quid for the year
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when I added my 17 year old daughter to my C1 the insurance went from £160 fully comp to £370 whilst a learner. When she passed her test & did her pass + the insurance was £540 fully comp for the year.
Group 1 gets my thumbs up
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>>£540 fully comp for the year.
It would be 2-4 times that for a lad.
£540 is still a very good price though even for a girl.
Edited by Bill Payer on 08/07/2009 at 13:24
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I still can't get my head round how much insurance for 17 year olds costs today. I passed my test 19 years ago at the age of 17 and very soon after bought my own car. My insurance premiums have been around the £250-£300 mark every year since, varying between TPFT and fully comp according to the value of my car at the time. Had a couple of minor bumps in my mid-20s, been rear-ended 4 times in total. I've mostly had 1.6 or 1.8 Cavaliers/Sierra/Mondeo/406 size cars. Currently driving a 1.8 Escort (gp 11), premium £285 fully comp.
Luckily my eldest is still half a dozen years off learning to drive...
Dave TD
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